This is the class blog for Eng 1102 at GA Tech called "Fiction, Human Rights, and Social Responsibility." The purpose of this blog is to extend our discussion beyond the classroom and to become aware of human rights issues that exist in the world today and how technology has played a role in either solving or aggravating them. Blogs will be a paragraph long (250 words) and students will contribute once every three weeks according to class number. Entries must be posted by Friday midnight.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Surprise arrest! [Extra Credit]

This
piece of news struck me and came off as a total surprise. Putting oneself in
the shoes of the victim is unimaginable. To think you're in transit going to catch your
next flight, and to be taken away to the jail straight from the airport. It’s
shocking! Such was the case when a South African doctor was trialed in court and was sentenced, without him even having the right to defend himself. To top it off, all this was happening outside his home country.

But
from a neutral stand point, it’s hard to justify who’s wrong and who’s right. Perhaps,
the UAE government found the man guilty of crime. But then again, to be
convicted without even having the chance to defend yourself, is a human right
violation. From the perspective of a parent who’s just lost his or her three year old,
it would seem like complete injustice to not convict or at least trial the man
who could very well be the reason for the death of his or her daughter. Such a case also becomes a diplomatic issue as the case involves individuals
from different countries. But I believe the man should have at least had the
opportunity to defend himself before being taken straight to jail. He had
absolutely no clue that he had committed any sort of offence.

Such
uncommon trials from the Middle East have recently been popping up often in
news. One such incident was when two men were deported from Saudi Arabia for
being “too handsome”. As absurd as that sounds to one, it was justified by
their government.

Perhaps,
they’re right from their perspective, but the rest of the world might beg to
differ.